Duel on the Construction Tower
The duel on the Construction Tower was the second-last confrontation of the Second NoHead War in 2020, where the formerly apprenticed NoHead, Sebiscuits Cardarphen, fought his former best friend and master, Baby Intelligence, in a construction tower. After gaining knowledge of the kidnapping of President Aaron Clinton, Baby Intelligence flew with his friends to the Lake of Tears and then the construction tower where Cardarphen lay in wait with Annabeth Black. Sebiscuits quickly took down the other members, leaving Baby Strength for last. Intelligence fought Sebiscuits, but was unable to prevent his departure. Days later, he and the other members chased him and his allies into the City Volcano, setting the stage for the final battle of the war. Prelude After the fight with Brute Gunray and Mean King, the S.M.S.B. thought they had won. But then they learned the Lunch Money Bandit had escaped, and flew to his base for a rematch. The crook battled them, but was eventually knocked unconscious. Thinking that he was dead, the babies went back home. Everything in their routine went back to normal for the next month. But then Baby Intelligence found an article in the newspaper about Sebiscuits kidnapping the President. They went after the last remnant of the NoHead army in their Pinewood Derby, and engaged him in a frenzied dogfight. Although they deployed missiles and laser blasts, Sebiscuits proved able to backfire the attacks and knock them out of their ship and onto a construction site. The Mayor was jettisoned before Sebiscuits went to face them, and landed on the platform with the babies. The duel Dropping from the catwalk above the hangar, Sebiscuits engaged all 5 babies at once. He slashed Force Baby, but then the others proved able to block his lightning. Turning to his sword, he snarled as he lunged at the 4 remaining babies. He scraped Lindsay and briefly dueled Baby Strength and Baby Intelligence before knocking out Baby Strength. Baby Intelligence exchanged a few blows with Sebiscuits before Sebiscuits stepped back. Drawing two swords, he then spun them rapidly in a buzzsaw motion and advanced on Intelligence. However, Intelligence slowly retreated before thrusting his sword into the swirling blades, engaging Sebiscuits in a spectacular display of swordsmanship. Sebiscuits unleashed a flurry of unpredictable attacks and blows, ramping up the attack. However, he remained unable to penetrate Baby Intelligence’s defense, so he ramped up his attacks even further. Intelligence, his defense finally beginning to get overloaded, altered the angle of one of his parries. Intelligence’s blade, instead of intercepting Sebiscuits’ blade, would have sliced his left lower wrist had he not retreated to the ledge he had come from. Baby Intelligence followed. Sebiscuits saw he was in range and attempted to hurl his sword at him. However, Intelligence dodged it, and the sword broke in two. Staring in surprise at the broken sword, Sebiscuits lunged in another attack. After another brief bout of fencing, Sebiscuits began to feel overwhelmed. Baby Intelligence prepared to resume the duel, advancing on his opponent. However, Sebiscuits pushed the baby aside. As Intelligence plummeted to the hangar floor, a half-armed Sebiscuits ran to his wheel bike and mounted it, speeding out of the hangar and dropping to the lower levels of the site, racing towards the docking platform where his private ship waited. Baby Intelligence pursued in his Pinewood Derby. Baby Intelligence pursued Sebiscuits in a furious chase across the ledge overlooking the construction site. As Intelligence caught up to the rogue, Sebiscuits thrust at him with an electric staff he stashed in the wheelbike. Intelligence managed to grab hold of the shaft of the weapon and wrench it from the baby’s hands. Intelligence then attempted to disable Sebiscuits’ vehicle with it before attacking the baby himself with it. Sebiscuits managed to regain hold of it, and pulled it back, and Intelligence along with it. As the two grappled for control of the wheel bike, Sebiscuits attempted to push Intelligence off the ledge, though the baby evaded the shots. Unfortunately, Intelligence’s movements off-balanced the wheelbike, causing it to flip as they arrived at a different landing platform. While they were thrown off, the bike skidded off the platform and fell into the pit below. The babies engaged in combat. However, Sebiscuits remained in control and eventually pushed Baby Intelligence into the melting pit. The baby clung for his life on a power node and watched as Sebiscuits left for his fighter on the other side of the site. A moment later, the other babies (who were now conscious) came to his rescue. But then the platform began to drop, sinking in the toxic mist. The president toggled with the controls and brought the platform back up. Then Baby Strength pulled everyone out, and they all rushed for the Pinewood Derby. Aftermath After days of searching, they chased Cardarphen and Black, who responded with electric beams and speed glitches. Although Lindsay proved able to deflect most of the blasts, and the glitches were anticipated, the babies were eventually slammed into a volcano. They landed on the pinnacle and were quickly joined by Sebiscuits. Using the jump as a fulcrum for a vicious overhand, Sebiscuits unleashed a flurry of attacks and rapidly gained ground on Baby Intelligence, driving him to the edge of the platform. Intelligence attempted to rally, doing an overhead jump over Sebiscuits’ head and away from the brink. But then he was again driven back by Sebiscuits’ vicious frenzy. Fighting along the catwalks and corridors within the facility, the two combatants entered the small antechamber outside the control room. Here, Baby Intelligence attempted to take advantage of an opening in Sebiscuits’ offense, seizing the NoHead’s left hand and pulling him into an arm-lock before slashing at the back of his neck. Sebiscuits managed to bring his blade up to defend himself, and quickly wrestled free, renewing his attack. Intelligence then telekinetically summoned Sebiscuits’ sword to his hand. However, Sebiscuits was unfazed, and he grabbed Intelligence’s wrists, squeezing on the hand that held his sword until Intelligence was forced to drop it. Within the conference room, their duel degenerated into a brawl. Sebiscuits kept hold of Baby Intelligence’s sword hand with his left while clamping down on the baby’s throat with his other and began bending him back, simultaneously throttling him and forcing Intelligence’s sword closer to his face. Intelligence narrowly managed to kick Sebiscuits off of him, though Sebiscuits quickly retaliated in kind, disarming Intelligence. Sebiscuits charged again, though Intelligence responded by sidestepping and kicking Sebiscuits in the chest. Sebiscuits flipped over and landed heavily on his back, and Intelligence telekinetically reclaimed his sword and moved to finish his prone enemy, though Sebiscuits managed to retrieve his own weapon and defend himself. The duel progressed back into the control room, where Baby Intelligence attempted to rally, remaining toe-to-toe with Sebiscuits as they engaged in a swift flurry of swordplay. The bout ended with the two engaged in a blade-lock, which Intelligence attempted to break with a telekinetic shove, though Sebiscuits managed to counter with one of his own, beginning a vicious power-struggle. Eventually the air-pocket compressed by the combined shoves ruptured and exploded, flinging both duelists against opposite walls. Sebiscuits recovered first, leaping across the control room at Intelligence, who narrowly managed to evade the attack and pin Sebiscuits’ blade against a console. However, their misdirected weapons accidentally destroyed the power controls for the facility’s shields, exposing the exterior of the facility to the intense heat of the volcano’s lava flows. Because of the shields being deactivated and the facility becoming vulnerable to the heat and flying lava, alarms were also activated both in the interior and exterior of the facility. Sebiscuits renewed his attack, though Intelligence managed to direct one of his blows into the door controls behind him, kicking Sebiscuits back to give himself a moment to regain his composure as he retreated through the open portal. Sebiscuits came on again, driving Intelligence out onto the exterior balcony, loosing a flurry of attacks before kicking the X-Baby Master hard in the face. Intelligence gave ground and was driven to the end of the balcony. Then he leaped backward onto a steam pipe; retreating along it with Sebiscuits in close pursuit. Attempting to gain the offensive, Intelligence attacked first, only to be driven back by Sebiscuits’ relentless assault. Leaping off the pipe onto one of the collection arms below them, Intelligence again attacked, though Sebiscuits easily fended off his blows before knocking him aside with a heavy backhand. Sebiscuits again seized the offense, viciously driving Intelligence back along the arm, despite Intelligence’s staunch resistance. As the duel continued, a massive spurt of lava erupted onto the collection arm and began to melt the metal. Retreating to the relative safety of the structure at the end of the arm, the two watched as the heat and weight of the lava melted the arm’s superstructure. As it became clear that the arm was going to break off of the complex, the combatants fled up along its length as the arm plummeted into the river of lava below. As the collection arm was dragged along the river, Sebiscuits kept up his onslaught, driving Intelligence further up the arm. As the river continued flowing with the collection arm, Intelligence leaped onto one of the severed support cables with Sebiscuits in pursuit. After a quick bout of swinging attacks, Intelligence swung out away from the arm to the utmost limit of the cable and let go, landing on a large lava-resistant platform. As the arm began to topple over the lava fall, Sebiscuits swung back onto it and charged along its length before leaping onto a different chunk of metal. Directing the collector toward Baby Intelligence’s platform, Sebiscuits resumed his attack. Baby Intelligence was cut off from the shore by the nimble chunk Sebiscuits was perched on. Slashing at Sebiscuits, Intelligence began another bout of bladework with the NoHead before breaking off. Intelligence tried again to reason with Sebiscuits one last time, only to receive more threats and dark side rhetoric. Sebiscuits leaped above Intelligence onto the platform, landing awkwardly and almost losing his balance. Intelligence attempted to take advantage of this and attacked, but Sebiscuits managed to recover and countered, beginning another flurry of swordplay. As they locked blades, the platform neared a shore, allowing Intelligence to disengage and leap to the higher ground. Perched on a rise above the lava river, Baby Intelligence warned Sebiscuits that he had the high ground and attacking him would be useless. Sebiscuits angrily accused Intelligence of underestimating him, who pleaded for him not to attack. Blinded by rage, Sebiscuits leaped at Intelligence, blade angled for the kill. However, he left himself open, allowing Intelligence to sever his left arm and both of his legs with a swift mou kei strike. Dropping his sword, Sebiscuits rolled to the brink of the lava river. Attempting to crawl up the shore with only one arm, Sebiscuits only slid closer to the lava. Baby Intelligence took Sebiscuits’ sword while tearfully expressing his regrets, shame, and disappointment. Sebiscuits screamed his hatred for his defeater before he slid too close to the lava and burst into flames, leaving him horribly burned and disfigured. Despite Sebiscuits’ obvious pain, Intelligence refused to kill the NoHead. Eventually, Baby Intelligence came back for him and took him to the MBH along with the other members. Lindsay, Baby Strength, Force Baby, and Telekinibabe oversaw the installation of his cybernetic implants, prosthetic limbs, and synthetic lungs and Baby Intelligence performed numerous blood transfusions and stabilized the terrible damage done to Sebiscuits’ eyes, vocal cords, scalp, face, arms, legs, and especially his lungs. All 5 members spent much time connecting Sebiscuits’ severed nerve endings to his new robotic parts. The process included 3 hours to supply artificial implants to his internal organs, 1 of which were dedicated to implementing the linkages. Budgetary limitations and lack of effective equipment also acted as a factor to the shoddy attempts at repair. As a result of the shortcuts they were forced to implement during the surgery, Sebiscuits had no mask, just a mouthpiece. His scarred face would show until it healed. In addition, the blackened and dead flesh on Sebiscuits’ scalp that was exposed to the heat of the volcano was surgically removed, although the scarring itself penetrated to his bones. When Sebiscuits rose, he said he was willing to join them, as the NoHeads had betrayed him, and the S.M.S.B. hadn’t, and he was the traitor there. Baby Intelligence welcomed him with open arms. The day after, the S.M.S.B. and townspeople celebrated with a party in town, complete with overflights by police skyfighters, as they had accomplished their main goals. The NoHeads were extinct, and Sebiscuits had returned to the light side. In this glorious celebration, Baby Intelligence revealed why Sebiscuits was wearing a life suit. The celebration continued into the nighttime, and the babies rendezvoused at a playground afterwards. However, the battle was not over. There were several villains across the U.S.A. that had to be dealt with. The S.M.S.B. lived in a mobile home for quite some time as they embarked on their quest to purge the world of evil. Eventually, they succeeded and returned to New York. Appearances * * * Category:Events Category:Duels Category:2020 events Category:Battles of the Second NoHead War